You can select the right attorney by doing a couple different things. First of all…
Medical malpractice is the negligent or careless practice of medicine. This can be done by a medical doctor, a dentist, or any other licensed medical person. The keywords are “negligent” and “careless.” Medicine is not an exact science, and diagnosis can involve a variety of different factors. While most medical diagnoses are routine, complications, past medical history. or other elements can cause a misdiagnosis. Because of this in order for it to be malpractice, the diagnosis must be shown to be outside standard practice.
How a Medical Malpractice Attorney can help you
Deciding on whether or not to go through with filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can be strenuous. Medical malpractice cases are very different from ordinary personal injury lawsuits. Contact the Fitzpatrick Firm to go over specific details of your case with one of our attorneys. This will help you get a better understanding of the validity of your situation.
Medical Malpractice Law in Georgia
Georgia statute 51-1-27 states that any person who holds themselves out as practicing medicine or surgery can be sued for medical malpractice if they do not use “a reasonable degree of care and skill” and an injury results.
Therefore, If you wish to proceed with a claim you must prove three things:
- A built-in doctor-patient relationship existed
- The doctor failed to provide the patient with the required skill and care
- There is a connection between the doctor’s failure to provide required skill and care and the patient’s injury.
Common Medical Malpractice Damages
When filing a medical malpractice claim you’ll need to submit a statement on how the negligent act(s) occurred and the extent of damages. Examples of damages include but are not limited to:
- Lost wages
- Medical bills
- Physical therapy bills
- Physical pain
- Not being able to work or perform normal social duties
Statute of Limitations
You must file suit within 2 years of the malpractice in order to be valid. However, in cases involving a foreign object being left inside a body, it’s required of you to sue within one year of discovering said object. If you had surgery six years ago and just found out a random object has been left inside of your body. You have one year to file a valid lawsuit against that doctor.